L.A. LIFEGUARDS WIN NATIONAL TITLE
The best in the surf and on the sand are from the west, proven once again by Los Angeles County lifeguards who earned a national championship title during a recent competition against fellow lifeguards from around the country.
It was the 45th win for the county competition team at the United States Lifesaving Association’s National Lifeguard Championships, held in South Padre Island Aug. 4-7. The county group, made up of current and former Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguards, also earned the overall team championship for the 31st time.
L.A. County earned a total 1,197.75 points throughout the event, far out of reach of second place competitors from Sussex County, in Delaware, who earned 717.75 points. Hampton Lifeguard Association, in New York, took the third spot, according to a recap by the United States Lifesaving Association.
A total of 350 lifeguards from 41 agencies competed, USLA spokesman Adam Sandler said.
“This year’s event in particular was so important for us because it allowed us to get back to the normalcy of our annual national championships after the disappointment of not being able to compete last year,” Gus Avila, USLA president, said in a news release following the event. “When we announced that we would be having the competition this year and we committed to it, there was a ton of excitement and desire from our athletes, officials and volunteers to get back to competing and demonstrating their lifesaving skills.”
Los Angeles County had five athletes finish in the Top 10 of both the Open Men’s and Open Women’s individual competition. South Bay’s Kelsey Cummings was the team’s top scorer for women and came in second place overall, with Brian Murphy the team’s top male performer, coming in fourth among all the competitors throughout the event.
Cummings, who grew up in El Segundo and now lifeguards at Manhattan Beach, said it’s a fun event that
“I love the team camaraderie and the fact we got to practice our lifesaving techniques and compete. “We’re all there for the same reason: to be better lifeguards.”
— Adam Sandler, USLA spokesman
showcases the athleticism of lifeguards.
“I love the team camaraderie and the fact we got to practice our lifesaving techniques and compete,” she said. “We’re all there for the same reason: to be better lifeguards.”
Cummings joined the county department in 2016 and started competing at the national championships with its competitive club team made up of current and former lifeguards, the LA County Surf Life Saving Association, five years ago.
She used to focus on just swim and surf races, but has recently joined other events including the surfski and Ironwoman.
Cummings said a career in lifeguarding requires a lot of physical abilities, both in and out of the water.
“I think being in shape and always being ready to make a rescue is really important to all of us lifeguards,” she said. “These type of events encourage us to stay in shape and be in the best position we can be to make a difference on the beach.”
Overall men’s point leader went to Ben Brewer, a lifeguard at Leo Carrillo State Beach, who was competing for California State Lifeguards. He won the Ironman, board race, surf race and board rescue events to finish with 124.75 points. Casey Francis, of Fort Lauderdale Ocean Rescue, earned 151 points for the top female spot, beating out Cummings’ final tally of 135.5.
More info: uslanationals.org.